The girls’ tennis team has steamrolled its way to the finals of the division three state tournament. The Vineyarders play Hopedale Friday in the final match of the MIAA tournament after defeating Lynnfield 3-2 at Lexington High School Wednesday afternoon.

The girls’ tennis team last week won their division of the MIAA sectional tournament. The team plays Lynnfield Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at Lexington High School in the state seminfinals, rescheduled due to rain.

The girls’ tennis team advances to the sectional finals after defeating Cohasset 3-2 in an exhilarating home match Wednesday. The win marks a first for the high school girls tennis program which has never sent a team to the finals of the MIAA sectional tournament.

The varsity girls tennis team is off to a winning start under coaches Nina Bramhall and Liz Roberts. And although both women are new to the varsity scene they are well known to this team, having been part of the Youth Tennis Center for years.

During the annual Martha’s Vineyard Community Tennis Fall Classic tournament in September, an all-ages competition, a curious thing happened on the way to the championships. Five young girls — all 12 or 13 years old — emerged as victors.

When Ned Fennessy began coaching the Vineyard boys’ tennis team in 1991, he often found himself working with athletes who were at a disadvantage. Some lacked racquets, others lacked proper shoes and nearly all lacked a tennis background.

“I was having to teach basic fundamentals — this is how you hold the racquet, this is how you follow through,” he said on Saturday, sitting on the team bus as the Vineyarders returned home from picking up their second straight state title.